Captured
by nightfuries
Summary: Sam has a crush on Six. Six wants to crush Sam. What happens when they both end up spending some quality time in a Mogadorian prison together? Tiny bit of Sam/Six, not a whole lot though. Rated T for violence and creepiness.
1. Chapter 1

It was a hot, summer day. Mary and her little brother were playing in the field by their uncle's farm. Just a normal, plain day. Mary yelled at her brother to get off the road. Since she was eight, and practically a grown up, he had to listen to her. Especially since he was only six.

They watched as two vehicles drove by the farm. One was a blue truck. The other was a . . . a . . . A motorcycle, Mary remembered. It was a pretty red, all shiny and sparkly. Mary went back to playing Dragon and Princess with her brother. They saw cars drive by all the time. Mary and her brother headed in for lunch. Of course nothing was special about these particular cars.

And of course there was nothing to suggest that in these particular cars were two aliens and a Chimera on a quest to save the world.

"So, any idea where we're going?"

The voice pulled John form his reverie. He had been thinking about all that had happened in the past couple of days. The big fight against the Mogadorians. Henri's death. Leaving Sarah. John always felt guilty when he thought of her. He missed her just as much as he missed Henri. And he might see Sarah again. But he'd never see Henri again.

"John?"

"Well, I think what Six has in mind is to go find Number 7. He's in Prince Edward Island," said John, turning to see Sam, who had started his driving shift two hours ago. John had driven for six hours before that. They'd driven all through the night, and had only made one stop and some run-down diner in the middle of nowhere.

"Like, Canada?"

"Yeah."

"When is Jane planning on stopping?"

John looked out the windshield to watch Six. From what he could tell, she was fully awake and completely energized driving her motorcycle. She hadn't even taken a break to sleep, and she'd been up for at least ten hours. John supposed that she'd had to learn to be tough and keep awake by herself since her Cepan had died. John didn't know how she could have survived on her own so long. Henri had only been gone a few days and John was as lost and confused as a newborn. And then right after Henri, Sarah had gone . . . _Stop_ he told himself. Don't make it worse.

He pulled his attention back to Sam. "You do know Jane is a fake name, right?"

Sam looked at him out of the corner of his eye.

"Jane Doe is like, the name they give patients at hospitals who've forgotten who they are," John continued, talking so he wouldn't have to think. "None of us have real names. Or, we did, but we've forgotten. We change our name every time we move so it's harder for the Mogadorians to track us. Names don't really mean anything.

"So, what, do I just call her Six?"

"Guess so."

"Do you want me to call you Four?"

John thought for a bit. Right now, all he wanted to do was get away from who he was. He wanted to go back and have a normal life with Sarah, a normal relationship. But instead he was driving on a dirt road with a wounded shape shifting animal on his lap trying to find other aliens so they could save Earth and the somehow repopulate Lorien. John didn't even want to think about what that meant.

"No," he said. "John's fine."

Sam stared out at the road for a little while. "Good," he said finally. "Four's a sucky name."

John looked at him. "And Six isn't?"

Sam smiled. "Yeah. We'll have to work on that one. I'll come up with something."

Suddenly, Six pulled over to the side of the road. The boys did the same, and John hopped out of the truck.

"What is it?" he asked.

"I'm low on gas. We'll need to stop by a station soon."

"There's one not too far ahead," said Sam getting out of the truck, carrying a huge map in front of him. "If we take a left at the next intersection, we should be . . ." he stopped, seeing the look Six was giving him. John waited. Six was still glaring. Sam cleared his throat, then slowly made his way back to the truck. Six waited until he had closed the door, then turned back to John, who was frowning at her.

"What?" she asked.

"He did come along for a reason. We're looking for his dad too. He's one of us."

"Doesn't mean I have to put up with him. Face it, he's slowing us down. And if the Mogadorians really abducted his dad, he's probably dead. They don't keep prisoners."

John sighed. "I know. Just, don't tell Sam. He's been trying to find his dad for his entire life. I don't want to ruin that for him."

"Whatever."

"So, I'm assuming we're heading to Canada, right?" asked John, changing the topic.

"Yes, for Number Seven. Is there a problem?"

"Are you planning on stopping at all on the way there?"

Now it was her turn to frown. "We did stop. At that diner place."

"For ten minutes. It's just, some of us aren't used to going 24/7,"

Right on cue, Sam opened the truck door and stepped out. "Um, just wondering. I thought we should maybe stop for a bit. For Bernie Kosar," he added quickly. "And, maybe we could eat something and sleep for a bit . . ."

Without looking at him, Six pulled a gun out of her belt and pointed it at Sam. "Get back in the truck."

Sam had instinctively raised his hands. Now he sighed and got back in, slouching in the seat.

"I can't believe you carry those things on you," said John, motioning to the gun and the two knives Six carried with her. "You're going to get us arrested."

"Best to be prepared." She turned to get back on her motorcycle

"Seriously though," he said, grabbing her arm. "We should rest. Bernie Kosar's still healing, and honestly, I could do with some rest too."

She stuck out her jaw stubbornly, then thought about it. "I guess we all could do with some rest. Follow me on the road for about another hour. I know a place." She looked towards the truck. "_Humans_." She rolled her eyes. "No stamina." She got on her motorcycle, and turned on the engine.

John was already heading back to the truck. He got into the driver's seat. "I can still drive, if you want," Sam said.

"Nah," John said. "I like driving." It helps me stop thinking, he added silently. "Besides," he said, looking over at Bernie Kosar, a Chimera from Lorien who had been wounded fighting a Mogodorian beast. "You look like you're busy with the full time occupation of being a pet bed. And," he said, noticing something else, "a drool sponge."

"Wha-?" Sam looked down. "Gross! Ugh," he leaned his head against the headrest and closed his eyes. "This day just couldn't get any better."

"Well, look on the bright side. Six only threatened to kill you once today."

"Twice," Sam said, without opening his eyes. "We went to the diner at two in the morning. Remember when I spilt the coffee?"

"Oh yeah. Smooth." John grinned, and turned his attention to the road, following the bright red motorcycle and the alien aboard it.

"_We believe we saw them heading northeast_," growled the Mogadorian in its strange language. _"We took a picture of them at this human facility." _He handed a picture to the alien in shadow. _"We believe that is Number Four. Unfortunately we lost them from there."_

"_Lost them?_" asked the leader. "Lost them?" he continued, in English. Among all of the Mogadorians on Earth, he was the only one who could speak the common Earth language. He found it gave him an opportunity, an open door that was closed for the others. _"Well, that's too bad." _He enjoyed switching between the two languages, to prove to the others how smart he was, how right it was for him to be the leader. Humans! He laughed when he thought of them. They're fragile little bodies and minds were good for nothing but amusement and entertainment. They were fools, they were not advanced. And soon he would show them how pathetic they were. But first he had to kill the remaining Lorien Six. They could be killed out of order know, thanks to numbers Four and Six. In allying themselves, they had assured the downfall of others of their kind. The location of Number Five was already being pinpointed at this minute. The leader smiled gleefully, then returned his attention to the scout who was grovelling in front of him. He was a good scout, but he had lost the targets, and that was unacceptable. Pulling a device from his pocket, the leader grinned again. _"Let's play a game."_

Wiping blood off of his uniform, the leader motioned for two Mogadorians to take away the mutilated body of the scout. It had been great fun killing him, oh yes. But it would be better when he got his hands on the Lorien Six. Yes, _their_ deaths would please him very much. But wait, what was this? The leader picked up the photograph the scout had brought. There was Number Four, and the she-devil, Number Six. But who was the other one? The leader squinted at the picture. Slowly, his lips split apart into the most gleeful smile of all. It was him. The leader grabbed another photograph he kept on him at all times. It was one of a boy and a man, a son and a father. Yes! The boy was the same in both pictures. _What wouldn't a father do for his son, _thought the leader._ I can finally draw him out._ The leader shook his head back and roared with laughter, frightening the guards on duty. Slowly he composed himself, and looked out the window into the setting sun.

_I've got you now Malcolm. I know your weakness, and I shall seize it. You will come to us . . . or suffer the consequences._


	2. Chapter 2

"Well, this is it," said Six, getting off her motorcycle and walking towards the building. Actually, it wasn't really a building, thought Sam, looking at the holes in the wall, the claw marks on the roof, and the empty doorframe. But hey, he wasn't going to complain.

"How'd you come up with this place?" asked John, climbing out of the truck.

"This is where Katarina and I stayed for awhile. The Mogs caught us eventually though."

Sam, who had been carrying Bernie Kosar into the house, stopped dead. "This isn't, ah . . . where she, um . . ."

"Died?" Six said harshly, glaring at Sam. "Of course not. As you can see, we clearly one that battle." She pulled her bag over her shoulder and stormed inside.

Sam gave the house a once over again. "Right," he said, than looked at John, who was shaking his head. "What?"

"You've never talked to girls before, have you?"

"This coming from an alien who has had no practice either because he only falls in love once," Sam countered. John had told him pretty much everything there was to know about Lorien and the Loric. Sam had been hungry for the information, the information his dad had known, and had tried to use to save the Loric.

John started to say something, but Six's voice called out to them from inside the house. "Oh, and there's only one bed, which I'm using. You boys can decide who gets the couch."

Sam and John looked at each other. Then, together, they both took off, racing towards the house.

Six watched as John ran in, jumped onto the couch, and then sat down, looking triumphant. Sam ran in moments later.

"I thought skinny kids were supposed to be fast?" John teased.

"Stupid . . . mutant powers," Sam said, doubling over with his hands on his knees to catch his breath. He straightened up. "That wasn't fair."

John grinned. "Life isn't fair. Suck it up."

"If you're both done being _idiots_," Six interrupted, glaring at the two of them. "We have work to do. We're not on vacation. One night here, that's it. We're playing by my rules. Got it?"

The boys look at each other.

"So, who's hungry?" asked Sam.

Six opened her eyes and knew immediately that she had slept too long. She'd told Four to wake her in six hours. She looked at her watch and groaned. She'd gotten at least ten hours of sleep. Didn't the other two realise how important this mission was? Just because they weren't used to staying up all night and going without food didn't mean that they could rest and do whatever! Six's Cepan had always said that rest was a weapon, one of the most important you can have. And rest was what had gotten Katarina killed.

Six headed out of the bedroom; ready to give Four some major heck. The cabin had two rooms, the bedroom, and the everything-else room. As Six entered the room, she was disappointed to see that unfortunately, she and Sam were alone. Four had disappeared and even Bernie Kosar was gone. Great.

Sam was attempting to build a tower out of a stray deck of cards he found, when Six stormed over to him. With one sweep of her hand, she destroyed 45 minutes of hard work and concentration. Sam decided not to say anything about it.

"Where's Four?" she practically snarled.

"You mean John?"

She waved her hand impatiently. "Names change. They're meaningless for us. Now where is he?"

"Uh, he and Bernie Kosar went to go, uh, get some food," said Sam, closing his eyes and bracing himself for what he knew was coming.

"Food? Food! I said no! We can't risk being spotted! I can't believe this!" She was standing up at this point, pacing the length of the cabin. "You might as well just parade around town with a giant flashing arrow! Or a neon sign saying 'Here I am! I'm an alien! Come kill me!' I don't believe this! And of course, he just had to bring you along too! Because you're 'one of us now'! You can't even do anything! How can you help us? Do you both think this is some sort of joke?" She paused finally. She had to control her feelings, she knew that. Six took a deep breath, and turned to look at Sam. He swallowed.

"Look, I-" he began.

"Just, go. Do something. I told you I'd shoot you if you slowed us down, and I meant it. And I _really_ need to shoot something right now. So I'd recommend getting out of here for a little while."

"What am I supposed to do?"

"Go . . . pick berries or something. I don't know. Whatever humans enjoy doing."

Sam stood up to leave. Halfway across the room he stopped and frowned. "I don't have a basket."

Six couldn't believe he'd just said that. Of all the dumb things! She picked up a bucket and chucked at him.

"Ouch!" Sam turned to look at her in disbelief, rubbing the side of his head.

"There. You have a bucket, and you can pick berries to your heart's content. Enjoy."

He started to say something, but then thought better of it. Six sighed in relief, and sat down on the chair. When Four got back, she was going to have a major talk with him about dragging a human around the world with them. But at least she had peace and quiet. For now.

Outside, Sam began walking to the forest area that surrounded the little cabin. About 10 feet in, he found out that there actually were berry bushes. He started towards them, then realised that Six was probably being sarcastic when she'd said that. She probably just wanted him out of the house. No, not probably. Definitely.

"I'm so stupid!" he yelled suddenly, flinging the bucket away from him. "I can't believe this! Why am I so bad at talking to girls? Why am I so bad at everything?" Years of resentment and anger started coming out as he continued. "I'm a nice guy! I don't deserve this sucky life! Sucky home, sucky school! Everything sucks! My dad's gone, and he's probably dead, and now I have a stupid stepfather! And then finally I meet a hot girl who I had the guts to talk to, but of course she hates me and threatens to kill me on a regular basis! It all sucks! Sucks! I wi-"

A hand reached from nowhere and grabbed him, pulling him into the cover of the bushes. His heart almost stopped. _Mogadorians_! But then he looked up and wished that it were the evil aliens.

"Get down idiot!" said Six.

"Oh God. What did you hear?"

She looked at him and almost smiled. "The rantings of a pathetic nerd."

Sam groaned, but was quickly cut off by Six. "Shut up! Don't you think I came out for a reason? There are Mogs everywhere! They've found us!"

Sam's eyes widened and he swallowed. "Shoot. We need to get to John! What if he's in trouble?"

"Which way did he go?"

Sam looked around, calculating. Finally he pointed southwest. "I'm pretty sure the town's in that direction. He'd be at the grocery store or somewh-" he stopped as Six began pulling him through the underbrush in the opposite direction. "What are you doing?" he whispered. "I just said he went that way!"

"Yes, and the farther away the two of us are the better chance we have of escaping!" she hissed. "If we're far enough apart, they can't kill us out of order! For all we know, he could be dead already. Or," she added, seeing the look on Sam's face, "the Mogs couldn't have found him yet, in which case we don't want to lead them right to him."

Sam thought about it, then nodded. Reluctantly, he began following Six as they weaved there ways through the forest. Sam was wondering what had happened to John, when he ran right into Six's outstretched arm. She glared at him, then motioned towards something. They were close to the highway, where a few big vehicles had been parked. Two Mogadorians were holding very lethal looking weapons and arguing with each other in there weird language. He glanced at Six, who was listening intently. "Do you understand what they're saying?" he asked.

She turned away and shook her head. But before she continued moving, Sam could have sworn he'd seen a look in her eye. It was confusion . . . aimed at him. And maybe a bit of fear too. As in she was afraid for him, not afraid of him. That is, Sam thought, if Six even feels fear. Most of the time, he doubted it.

BOOM!

Right over their heads, a tree exploded into red flames. Six rolled forward to avoid being hit by the falling branches. Sam scrambled backwards until he hit a tree. No, not a tree, he realised, looking up, but a huge Mogadorian. The alien leaned over and picked Sam up by his collar like he weighed nothing. No! It was not going to end like this! Sam struggled and punched but the alien didn't even seem to feel it. Did these guys even register pain? Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a hidden monster aim his gun at Six, who was taking on three aliens no problem. He started to shout, but it was too late. The alien fired the gun. The fire rushed towards Six . . .

Then doubled back and hit the alien square in the chest. It fell over, then turned to dust and disintegrated. Six yelled in triumph. "That's right! Try and hurt me now! You should know better than to try and kill us out of order!" She took out the remaining aliens and turned to see the Mogadorian holding its gun pointed right at Sam. It growled, and she got the idea. Cursing Sam on the inside, she slowly raised her hands. The Mog glared at the gun in her hand and the knives in her belt. She threw them on the ground, mentally promising herself that the next time she got her hands on Sam, she would shoot him.

Suddenly, a Mog she hadn't seen before came up from behind her and covered her mouth with a cloth. She fought against it, but these weren't any normal earth chemicals. The rag was soaked in Morin, a Mogadorian poison guaranteed to knock her out for at least two hours. Slowly, her brain clouded over, and her last thoughts were of the conversation she'd overheard the Mogs arguing about. Katarina had been one of the few Loric who studied the Mogadorian language, and she'd taught Six how to understand it.

_Kill the numbers. The girl must die first, or the charm will still hold._

_Leave the human boy alive._

Why?

_The leader has plans for him._

Oh Sam, Six thought, maybe I should have let them shoot you. It's probably a better fate than what they're planning.


	3. Chapter 3

Sam opened his eyes and looked around. There were bars all over the place, like in a prison cell, but the bars were glowing bright blue. Why am I in a prison cell, he thought. He tried to sit up, and almost puked.

"Well about time."

He turned to see Six standing in the far corner of the cage. With her arms crossed and her eyes glaring daggers, she looked mightily pissed off.

"What happened?" Sam asked. His brain still felt fuzzy, but he could sit up at least without getting sick.

"You tell me. I was all fine, taking out Mogadorians left, right and center, but of course, you just had to go walk into one of them blindly."

Sam winced. He remembered that. Always, that happened all the time! When him and John were saving Henri, just now with Six. He put his head into his hands. Way to go Sam, he thought. You're really proving to Six that John made the right choice in bringing you along.

"I got knocked out first, and then I'm pretty sure they did the same to you. Then we ended up here, and I woke up, and had nothing to do except watch you moan and drool."

Sam subconsciously wiped his mouth. "I don't drool," he said. "There was a silence. Then, "It's weird, isn't it?"

Six looked at him witheringly. "Oh really Sam? What's weird about it? The fact that we were captured by aliens? The fact that we're in a magical cage that stops the use of my Legacies? Oh, _I _know! How about the fact that we brought along, on this very important mission, the biggest screw-up in the history of the universe? Yes, I think that's weird, don't you?"

Behind his back, Sam's hands clenched into fists. Everyone said that. _Everyone_. All the time. Mark, his stepfather, Six. Would no one cut him a break sometime? Relax, he told himself. It's just like with Mark. You couldn't win against him; he had a whole gang to back him up. You can't win against Six, because she's got super strength and super speed, even if her other Legacies didn't work. You have no one, nothing. As always.

"I just think it's weird that the Mogadorians captured us. Wouldn't they just kill us?"

"Well, if you'd been paying attention during the fight, you would have realised that obviously Four and I were separated enough for the charm to resume working. So now they'll have to kill Four and Five before they can get to me."

Sam waited for her to answer the unspoken question. When she didn't, he asked it. "What about me? There's nothing to stop them killing me."

She threw up her hands. "I don't know Sam. Maybe they'll use you as bait for Four. Maybe they've taken a liking to science nerds. Or maybe they've realised that whatever team you're on loses, so they want to keep you around and get you to find the other Lorien Six. I don't know."

But Sam had seen something in her eyes again. "That's not what you actually think."

"Oh, so now you're an expert on how girls think. Right."

Sam opened his mouth, but shut it again. There was no point arguing with Six. Man, that girl was stubborn. And hot. Not the time, he told himself. Out loud he said, "So how did they manage to knock you out? I thought your charm thingy protected you against that?"

"My 'charm thingy' only works if it's the Mogadorians attacking me directly. I guess technically speaking, poisoning someone doesn't count."

"So couldn't they kill you that way?"

Six sighed, exasperated. "If I were a weak little human, maybe. The Loric are more powerful than that. So far, the Mogadorians have yet to discover a poison that could do more than knock us out for a few hours and leave us with a pounding headache."

Sam thought that over. "Okay, so they can't kill you. That's good, right?" All he got was a sarcastic look from Six. "So, how do we escape?"

"Escape?" she smirked.

"Yeah, you know, we should, I don't know, come up with plans or . . ." he stopped. She was staring at him, amused. "What?"

"Well, does it look like we can escape right now?"

Sam looked around. "Uh . . ."

"No. You have to wait for opportunities to present themselves." She chuckled. "Rookie."

Sam couldn't believe she found this funny. "What about John? He'll come and get us, right?"

"If he's smart, he won't. The Mogadorians have been coming in here every half an hour to see whether the charm still holds or not. So far, so good. If he comes, I die. And that will pretty much guarantee Four's death too. And yours."

"You're quite the optimist," Sam muttered. Unfortunately, Six heard.

"Please. You want optimism, get out of my life. I don't believe in watering down the truth, and in hoping for things that'll never happen. Life's tough. But at least I know the score. Fill yourself up with false hope, pretending life's better than it is; you'll get killed pretty quickly. God you humans are naïve." She gave a disdainful look.

Okay, that's it. "Hey, don't look at _me _like that. I know the score. I've known it for my entire life! I didn't pretend that I wasn't the nerd no one liked, the guy who everyone avoided. Okay? I got that! I didn't go around trying to act cool, pretending I was like everyone else! I knew I wasn't!"

"Aw, you've had such a hard life, haven't you?"

Sam clenched his fists. "Yes, I have! I don't know what your standards of life are, but I'm pretty sure my life sucked! No one ever cared, except my dad, and _he _disappeared when I was seven!"

Six had had enough of this. "You think you've had it rough? My Cepan died three years ago, if you were listening! She was the only person I had on this planet! You've got a mom, a stepdad, other kids! I had no one! Plus I've been running from bloodthirsty aliens who want to kill me! At least you had a home, a bed, food! I've had to grab whatever I can get! I dealt with the situation! I learned to tough it out! But all I hear from you is 'I need this, I need that'! I wish you'd-"

But Sam never heard the rest. Some sort of greenish gas started billowing in the room. Immediately his brain started fogging up. Sam wondered what was going on. He looked at Six, who looked just as confused as he was. Then his eyes closed and he sank slowly into unconsciousness.

John came out of the store carrying two bags filled to the brim with groceries. He got into the truck and was immediately pounced on by Bernie Kosar.

_Did you get it?_ the dog asked John in his mind.

"Yeah, I got them," said John, pulling out a family sized box of Goldfish. Bernie Kosar wagged his tail and started to drool. "Oh, go ahead, dig in. I got another box for me, Sam and Six."

Bernie Kosar leapt on the box, and with all the violence of a Chimera, he tore into the box to get the crackers. John laughed, and looked out the window. He did a double take. There was a girl, standing in front of the electronics store, with blonde hair, holding a camera. Sarah? John made to get out of the car.

A guy walked out of the store, a guy with red hair. He kissed the girl, who smiled, and they went off down the street together. No, not Sarah. Of course not. Why would she be here? He had to stop thinking about her. It made him unfocused, and he had to focus on their goal. Once they defeated the Mogadorians, then he would return to Paradise and see her. The he would . . .

_So, are we heading back now?_ Bernie Kosar interrupted his thoughts, literally. John sighed. He just needed some alone time right now. It was great that he'd found Six, but when he looked at her, she sort of reminded him of Sarah. She looked sort of the same, but was harsher, colder. It made him sad. And Sam was great, but having him around all the time was driving him a little nuts. He always had to worry about what would happen if a battle started between them and the Mogs. Not only would he have to defend himself, but Sam too. Sometimes John wondered if he'd made the right decision bringing Sam along. Actually, he'd been questioning a lot of his decisions lately. Before he'd always ask Henri for advice. But now, he couldn't.

Bernie Kosar seemed to sense all his thoughts. _Why don't we go for a run? Stretch our legs? We could have a race, _he thought, his tail beginning to wag.

John smiled. "Alright," he said. "Let's have a race." He started the car and drove out of town. Just an hour in the forest, far away so nobody would see. Have a run, let out some energy. Sam and Six would understand. It'd be fine.

Sam woke up strapped to a chair. He wasn't in the same room with Six. In fact, he couldn't see her anywhere. He was sitting in a plain white room. No Mogs, which was weird. But the creepiest thing was the video camera pointed straight at him.

A door slid open, and a Mog walked in. He was smiling, which was creepy, and holding some sort of box. He came right up to Sam until he could see more of the alien's face then he ever wanted to see. Or smell. It said something, still smiling.

"C-come again?"asked Sam. Come on Sam, he thought, you can handle this!

"Oh yes. We have to speak English for our special guest."

That came as a surprise. Sam didn't know any of the guys spoke English. It was a little freaky. "So, what do you want?" he asked, surprising himself. He'd never believed he'd be able to say anything to these guys. If it'd ever come to something like this, he always pictured John or Six mouthing off to the bad guys, while he stayed silently in the back.

"You are his son. Malcolm's son," the alien's smile grew. "We have a surprise for him, oh yes. He'll come back now, of course he will."

"What do you mean about my dad? What-what is this?"

The alien pointed gleefully to the camera. "We can connect to his device. His com-poo-ter," the alien said, sounding it out. "We can't track it, but once he's sees this, we won't need to!"

Sam's head was spinning. What about his dad? Had he been here? And why were they filming this? An idea began forming in Sam's mind, one that he didn't like at all. He swallowed, about to ask something, but the alien had gone over to the video camera and was turning it on. Now _that_ was creepy. Aliens and technology.

"Hello Malcolm," the alien began. Sam's heart leapt. Was this like video chat? Could his dad really be on the other side?

"You evade us expertly. Ex-pert-ly," said the Mog, sounding it out again. He seemed to enjoy that. "But now we have you! We won the game! And you have lost. But you can still get your prize." The alien motioned to Sam. What the heck was this?

"Dad . . ." Sam started to say.

"Oh, no, no, no," said the alien, coming back to Sam's side. "No talking during the game please." He looked back at the camera and smiled. "You humans always break the rules. Tsk, tsk, tsk. But now you'll pay for that Malcolm," said the Mog, waggling a finger at the camera. "By the time you get this, it will be 4:00. Come to the camping area outside Hamilton." The Mog grinned. "You know which one. I f you don't . . . well, we'll have more fun here, won't we?" said the alien, looking at Sam.

"Uh, wha-"

"You remember this from your stay here, right Malcolm?" said the alien, opening the box he was holding and pulling out some sort of gross, slimy insect. "If you're not careful, he's going to make a new friend." The alien started laughing. Sam was freaking out. What the heck was going on? You know already, he thought. No, it could be anything. This is what Six meant about not watering down the truth and having fake hope. Know the score Sam. No, I don't want to! _It's not what I think it is!_

The alien placed the thing gently down onto the chair beside Sam's head.

_It's not what I think it is, it's not what I think it is._

The thing started crawling, slowly making its way to Sam's ear.

_It's not what I think it is, it's not what I think it is, it's not what I think it is._

Sam felt something disgusting and gross enter his ear.

_It's not what I think it is, it's not what I think it is, it's not what I think it is, it's not-_

And his world went black.


	4. Chapter 4

Six was standing in a corner of the cell, fuming. Firstly, for being knocked out _again_. She couldn't believe that the Lorien charm had overlooked something like that! She always liked the idea that she was invincible with the charm. But now, she realised that it didn't protect her from a lot of things. There were ways for the Mogadorians to harm her indirectly. Like if they hired a man to kill her; the charm didn't protect against humans. Not that a human would be able to take her out, she smirked. She highly doubted that there was a human alive who could take her out.

Her train of thought soon turned to Sam. God, he was annoying. But she was worried. She'd woken up to find herself alone, and that had been awhile ago. She wondered if it was because of the 'plans' the leader had for him. She shivered. That hadn't sounded good. She probably should have told Sam, but she was worried he would freak out on her, and she did _not_ need that. But still, she was worried.

She heard a familiar hiss, and gas started flowing into the room. Great, thought Six. She was never going to get out of here if they kept knocking her out every time they opened the door. But at least this meant that something was happening. Although she wasn't entirely sure if she wanted to know what it was . . .

* * *

><p>The boy entered the tent and stared at the man sitting inside. "So, what are you going to do?" asked the boy, walking over to the man and sitting cross-legged beside him.<p>

The man didn't even hesitate. "I've got to go. There's no choice in the matter."

"Yes there is," said the boy. "I know it's a terrible decision. It was one I had to make when my Cepan told me to leave her."

"No," said the man, interrupting. "It's not the same." The man gazed fondly at the boy, with whom he had lived with for years. "Your decision was hard, yes, but mine is not a decision at all. I will go, there's no choice in the matter. And you will stay."

"Like hell I will," the boy said indignantly. "I'd come with you anywhere. But if you go, we may lose the one chance we have of uniting the others and beating the Mogadorians. If you don't go, well, there will be consequences, but when you weigh them against the fate of the world . . ."

The man sighed, and closed his laptop. He stood. "You don't understand. Maybe you will, later in life, but not now. I have to, no matter how much the world needs me."

"But why?"

"Because," answered the man. "I could never leave my son there."

* * *

><p><em>Well, it's getting easier each time, <em>thought Six, resuming consciousness. She was pretty sure that she's been knocked out only a half hour this time, a big difference from the last. If this keeps up, maybe I'll be able to withstand it fully next time. With this thought, a huge trail of escape plans and possibilities began to form. Happily, Six opened her eyes. And then saw the form lying next to her, grimacing and wincing in pain. Six put a hand to her mouth.

"Sam," she breathed.

* * *

><p>"Crap!"<p>

Bernie Kosar watched as John paced in front of a tree. They'd driven back up to the cabin a half an hour ago, to find it a smoking wreck. And now Sam and Six were gone.

"Crap!" John yelled again, hitting the tree, and wincing as splinters found their way into his hand. Groaning, he sank down next to Bernie Kosar and started picking them out.

"I don't believe this!" he said as he treated his hand. "I should never have left them alone! Sam can't defend himself, and if there were dozens of Mogs, Six would have a tough time looking out for them both. Crap!"

_It was my fault. I suggested the race in the forest._

John leaned his head against the tree. "No, it's my fault. I was the one who wanted to get away from it all. I'm so stupid!"

_So, what's your plan?_

John got up and started pacing again. "That's just it, I don't know! That's Number Four for you, unable to make any decisions without someone to hold his hand," John said bitterly. "I don't know what to do. The Mogadorians left a really clear trail, which means they want me to follow, which means it's probably a trap. The thing is, Six and I might be far enough apart that the charm still holds and they can't touch her. I don't even want to think about what happened to Sam. But there's a chance Six is still alive, and I'll destroy that chance by going after them. What do I do?"

Bernie Kosar looked up at him. _Why don't you use your Legacy?_

"Oh, yeah, perfect, I can do a little light show for them and hope the Mogs die of laughter."

_Actually, I wasn't really thinking of that, but if you think your Lumen would help, than go ahead._

John looked at Bernie Kosar. "Then what were you-" he broke off as he read Bernie Kosar's mind.

"Yeah," he said. "That could work."

* * *

><p>Dark images were flashing past, memories, hundreds of them. The pain and fear intensified by whatever chemicals the alien thing had left in his brain. Sam saw his stepfather yelling, than he altered grotesquely and became Mark and his friends, laughing as the shoved him around. Then they became gross, slug like creatures, all advancing towards him, dripping poison as they came closer and closer . . .<p>

The image overwhelmed and Sam jerked onto all fours and threw up. He opened his eyes to see black slime oozing around on the floor, and he tried to crawl away, but he was feeling numb all over. A hand reached down and helped pull him away.

"Sam, can you hear me?" The voice sounded like a distant echo, like his mom's voice. The image of his mother swam before his eyes, and he cried out for her, but she turned, and walked away from him, leaving him alone.

"No, mom, no!"

"Sam, can you hear me? Sam?"

"Mom!"

Sam gasped and jerked awake. Slowly, his eyes focused on the person in front of him. Sam shrunk away; just another image, something that would only hurt him. No, no it wasn't. It was real this time. It was over.

"Sam?"

"Six?" His voice came out hoarse and scratchy.

She closed her eyes. "Oh, thank God." Then she turned back to him. "I can't believe you scared me like that," she said, with some of her former attitude.

He tried to grin, but winced instead.

"Sorry," Six said quickly. "But I hate being afraid, and you had me pretty worried there. I've heard of creatures," she continued, "that live on the planet Mogadore. They enter your brain and secrete some sort of poison there. It causes . . . well, I guess you don't need to be told that."

Sam shuddered at the memory of the thing. But he was feeling better now. Looked like the poison had run its course. "Are we . . ." he began.

"Still in this godforsaken cell? Yes. I've checked at least three times for any weaknesses in the way it was built. Nada. And it doesn't help that the Mogadorians keep knocking me out before they open the door. So I'm still working on an escape plan." She lowered her voice, and spoke in a much kinder way than Sam had ever heard her talk before. "Are you going to be alright?"

Sam nodded. "I think so."

She opened her mouth to ask another question, but then closed her mouth and thought better of it. Sam was glad. He wasn't sure what she was going to ask, but he really didn't want to have to tell her what happened when he was in the white room. Then he remembered what the Mogadorian had said, and he gasped.

"What?" she asked sharply.

"Um, my dad," Sam said, wincing. Every word spoken felt like it was shooting daggers into his brain. "He-he's been here before. And, uh, they want him back." Sam broke off sharply and sucked in a breath to avoid groaning from the pain.

Six thought it over. "Makes sense," she began. "I mean, your dad was working on helping the nine of us to try and restore Lorien and save Earth. They would have wanted to use that to their advantage. But you said they want him back?"

"He escaped. I don't know how."

Six nodded, and thankfully refrained from asking more questions. Sam closed his eyes and tried to rest.

"I'm sorry." Her voice startled him back into consciousness. "About . . . yelling and threatening you and stuff."

"You don't need to-"

"Sam, you're only ever going to hear me say these words once, so shut up and listen." Six took a deep breath and continued, "It's just, my Cepan Katarina, she was always telling me to relax more. She said if I was always tense and expecting attack, the Mogadorians would pick me out right away. So I took her advice." Six sighed. "I went to school, made some friends. But, the Mogadorians found us eventually, and attacked. Katarina died defending me. I guess I've always been a little uptight since then, and nervous to get to know humans too well. I left some good friends behind, and I didn't want to have to deal with that again." She paused, remembering her times with Lily and Hannah in Australia. Hannah's birthday, where they'd accidentally left out the cake and her dog had gotten at it. Lily's excitement when the guy she'd liked forever finally asked her out. The time they'd all gone to the fair and Six had been the only one brave enough to go on the giant roller coaster. She sighed again and turned back to Sam, who was watching her intently. "Well I hope you're happy. That's the last time you'll ever hear me get mushy like that. Got it?"

Sam smiled. He felt a lot better than he had five minutes ago. And not just because the poison was leaving his system. "Yeah, I get it."

They relaxed into a comfortable silence. "Megan," Sam remembered suddenly.

Six glanced at him. "What?"

"Oh, nothing." But when Six continued to stare at him, he added. "See, me and John were talking about how Jane Doe was a fake name, and how we couldn't just call you Six. So I said I'd come up with a good name for you. You look like a Megan."

Six waved dismissively. "Names change. They don't mean anything." Then, out of curiosity, she asked. "Why Megan?"

Sam blushed and swallowed hard. "Uh, well, have you ever seen the movie, um, Transformers?" He tensed as though he expected her to hit him.

"No," Six said slowly, as he relaxed. "Why?"

"Oh, well, if you'd seen it, you'd know what I meant," Sam said vaguely.

"I don't like the sound of that."

Sam grinned. And for once, Six smiled back. Maybe he wasn't completely annoying, she thought to herself. Maybe he was more than just a nerd who was picked on by the football team. Maybe Six could actually like him.

Maybe.

* * *

><p>"I feel like Snow White."<p>

John slowly turned in a circle, staring at all the things in front of him. Bernie Kosar's plan had worked. John had sent out a mental plea for help using his Legacy. And now he was surrounded by dozens, maybe even hundreds of animals, all who had heard him and come to help. Tons of furry squirrels, deer, rabbits, wolves. The most unnerving was the family of black bears that had turned up. They were all standing at attention, waiting for him to tell them what to do. It was . . . amazing.

_Or Dr Dolittle, _added Bernie Kosar.

"How do you . . . never mind." John turned to address all the animals. "Uh, hi. So, the reason I've called you all here today is to help me fight some, um, bad guys. They're tall, with tattoos."

Some of the animals began pawing the ground angrily.

_They know the Mogadorians, _said Bernie Kosar. _They've been cutting down trees in this forest and draining it's resources for themselves. All right everyone! _He began addressing all the animals. _Here's the plan…_

I wish you could see this Sarah, thought John, watching as his small beagle marched around, not unlike an army general, giving out orders and commands. This is so crazy. But, he thought, as a smile began to grow on his face, it just might work.


	5. Chapter 5

"I can't believe you did that!"

"I live on the edge, remember?"

Sam laughed, and Six smiled too. They were searching _again_ for some sort of escape route, a flaw in the design of the cell. But after having looked it over what felt like a dozen times, she doubted that there was one. However, she didn't want to tell Sam that. About an hour ago they'd started talking, at first just to fill the awkward silence, but then to lighten the mood as well. They started sharing stories of life before, and Six was just in the middle of recounting the time when her, Lily, and Hannah had gotten into quite a mess at the cinema.

Sam looked at her and shook his head. "I still don't believe that. Watching two movies for the price of one, I get. Three, okay. But five? Did you have nothing better to do all day?"

"We were merely conducting an experiment to see how long it took before the staff figured out what we were up to. And frankly, I was quite disappointed. Five movies? You'd think they'd be more observant than that."

He laughed again, and then turned away to continue searching. She went to stand beside him.

"Alright, your turn."

He thought. "Okay, well there was this one time . . ."

The sound of hissing interrupted him. And Six knew all to clearly what it was.

"Oh for goodness sakes!" She yelled at nobody in particular. "I have had it up to _here_ with getting knocked out! Cowards!" She turned back to Sam and saw the fear in his eyes. Then she realised what the gas probably meant. "Sam," she said.

He swallowed hard. "It's okay, I-I"

The gas was already starting to affect him. He sat down hard. Six glanced at him, then made a split second decision. She bent down, and kissed him. He looked up at her, uncomprehending. She deeply hoped he was too affected by the gas to remember that later. "For luck," she whispered. Then she stood up. She could resist the gas this time, she knew it. She would protect Sam, and she would kick some major Mogadorian butt. She would, of course she could. If she could just stay awake . . .

Six woke up angry and, she soon realised, her stomach sinking horribly, alone. She leapt to her feet, looking wildly around the cell, but of course she was the only one there. No! She couldn't have been knocked out for more than 10 minutes! But it had been enough. The Mogadorians had come, they'd taken Sam, and now he was alone with them. Six would have sunk to her knees in despair, but then she noticed the odd sounds coming from somewhere. She soon made out growls from Mogadorians, and a weird knocking sound that almost sounded like a woodpecker. Then there was a huge roar, and a giant crash. Something huge came into the room where her cell was. She readied herself in a fighting stance…

And almost died of relief when she saw the familiar face of Bernie Kosar. He was in full out monster form, but that was fine by Six. But how did he get here? And did that mean that John was here too? She ran up as close as she could get to him. "Bernie Kosar," she said. "Can you break me out?"

Considering she didn't have a Legacy that allowed her to communicate with animals, she doubted he understood. But he seemed to get the just of it. He started backing up, and Six, sensing his intentions, did the same. Then with another roar, he came sprinting and with all the force of a wrecking ball, slammed into the cage. The bars gave right away, and Six had to dive to the side to avoid being crushed by the giant furry wall that was coming towards her. She slowly picked herself up, and stared at the giant hole in the wall. Then she turned to Bernie Kosar, who was staring at her with his tongue out and tail wagging.

"Good dog." She patted him on the head. "Now let's go find Sam."

Sam didn't have to open his eyes to know where he was, but he did anyway. He was back in the same white room with the video camera pointed straight at him. Currently there was no Mog in there with him, but it was only a matter of time. Sam strained against the restraints on the chair. He would _not _go through this again. Never again, not ever-

The door slid open. Sam shut his eyes, not wanting to see the Mogadorian's gloating, ugly face. He tensed, waiting for the inevitable . . .

"Honestly, is my hair really that bad?"

Sam's eyes opened in a flash and he turned to see Six grinning at him, knives in both hands.

"How-"

"Bernie Kosar," she said. "And John, maybe. A Mogadorian tried to kill me out there, but it reflected onto him instead, so John must still be far enough away that the charm holds. But he's gotten his Legacy working to his advantage."

"What do you mean?" asked Sam, as Six made two expert slices with her knives, releasing him. He stood up and turned, and then started to cry out. Two Mogadorians were coming through the door, guns raised.

They didn't even get a chance. Six turned immediately and threw one of her knives directly into one of the Mogadorian's chests. It yelled and dissolved into dust. She ran at the second one, who started raising his gun. Jumping with all her might, she leaped onto his raised arm, then used the momentum to propel herself through the air until she was standing with one foot on each of the alien's shoulders. He didn't even have time to shout; giving a roar of her own, Six plunged her other knife straight through the Mog's head, killing him instantly. As he dissolved beneath her, she began to fall, then tucked herself in and somersaulted away. She stopped and stood up right in front of Sam, who was gaping at her.

"Survival instinct," she said, picking up a gun and tossing it at him. He fumbled and almost dropped it on his foot. "Honed by years of training."

"Whoa," Sam said, running to catch up as she went out through the door. "Can you – Duck!"

He lifted the gun and hit the Mog coming at them right in the chest. It howled and collapsed. Six stood up slowly, then turned to stare at him.

Sam shrugged. "Call of Duty instinct." He grinned. "Honed after years of Xbox." She gave him an approving grin, then the two of them took off running down the hall.

"So, what's going on?" asked Sam, as they sprinted down corridors. He kept seeing the weirdest things: angry squirrels taking out a Mogadorian, a pack of wolves tearing another one to shreds.

"It's John's Legacy. He can communicate with animals. This way," Six said, grabbing his arm and pulling him through a door and into another long hall. Up ahead, a baby bear appeared, chewing on what distinctly looked like one of the Mogadorian's cloaks. Sam shivered. "How can these animals beat the Mogs so easily?" he asked.

"What they lack in power, they make up for in numbers. There must be hundreds of them here. Turn right up here."

He followed her into yet another room and they ran in silence for a bit. "How do you know where to go?" he asked again, although he knew she was probably getting frustrated with all these questions.

"One of my Legacies is that I have a perfect sense of direction."

"Really?"

"No. Shut up."

Sam lapsed into silence again. They turned another corridor and froze. A dozen Mogadorians were waiting for them, guns at the ready, blocking the door that Sam could see led outside. And the Mog who had tortured Sam, their leader, was standing right in the middle of the pack, smiling gleefully at them. Sam clenched his fists.

"We're not done with you yet, little boy. You must stay," the Mog said teasingly. "Now put down the-"

Two things happened at once. One wall exploded inwards as Bernie Kosar crashed his way in. And through the door came someone tall and blonde, someone whose hands were glowing as though they were on fire. John!

Without hesitating, Six leapt into the fight, knives swirling. Sam made to follow, but John had managed to push his way over to him.

"Thank God you're alive!" John yelled over the battle. "Now get outside!" Sam started to protest, but John shouted over him. "I've got your truck out there! I need you to start it so we can make a quick getaway! Honk when you're ready! I'll clear a path for you. Go!"

Sam hesitated, then nodded. John stood up and ran into the fight, tossing Mogs aside telepathically. He must have been using his other Legacy too, because more and more animals were joining the fight. Sam saw the opening between Bernie Kosar and a huge bear, and ran for it, covering his head with his hands. He saw a knife slash at him, but John was there, attacking the Mog responsible. Sam kept running and running until he had passed through the doorway and was outside.

He paused against a tree, heaving for breath, then stood up looking for the truck. There! Parked in the clearing! Sam made towards it, but ducked as he felt a rush of heat. Moments later, the tree behind him burst into flames.

"Come out little boy. We're not done yet."

It was the Mog leader! Sam paused, then ran into the forest. He couldn't get to the truck; there was no cover there. And as much as he prided himself on his shooting skills, he doubted he could aim better than a Mog who was expecting him, especially when he'd have to aim over his shoulder.

"So you want to play, little boy? Okay, we play a game. Cat and mouse. I'm the cat, and you're the mouse!"

Another explosion above him made him realise that he wasn't the actual target. The Mog wanted him alive to draw out his dad, so it was just going to wait until Sam was tired, disable him, and bring him back. Sam couldn't let that happen; he had to end this _now._ But how?

He tore through bushes and wound up next to some ancient trees. He could hear the Mog behind him, but he couldn't run anymore. Sam looked wildly for a hiding place, then looked up. A plan started to form in his head. An impossible plan. Crazy really, but what did he have to lose?

The Mog ran swiftly through the bushes. It had been all fun and games, letting the human think he might actually have a chance of escaping, but the time for that was past. With his superior hearing he detected the sounds of the battle still raging back at their headquarters. And if he didn't join it soon, those pathetic Numbers might actually win. He couldn't have that.

He lifted his head and took a deep sniff. Yes, through here. The scent was strong. If carefully moved aside the bushes, and stepped through, gun raised. He accepted the fact that he would have to harm the boy in order to get him back. Indeed, that might help to convince Malcolm even more to return. The Mog fingered the trigger eagerly, nearly licking his lips in anticipation. "Come out little mousy," it whispered. "Game over. The cat has found you."

He turned in a circle and saw . . . nothing. Where? He sniffed again. Odd, the scent was here. But there was no path. Unless the boy was hiding. Or . . .

The Mogadorian tilted his head to stare upwards. He laughed. The game was on a whole new level now. Literally.

High above, clinging to a tree trunk, Sam looked down. He could hear the Mogadorian coming, and he had to get out of the tree. Up was out, unless he just wanted to prolong the inevitable. Downwards would just bring him closer to the Mog. So he'd have to go to the side.

Sam inched his way along the branch while holding onto another branch overhead. He went until it was too thin to safely go any further, then looked across him. The trunk of the other tree wasn't too far away, but he'd have to jump for it. Never mind, stupid idea, he thought. But then the sound of breaking branches came to him. Unless he wanted to get caught by the Mog, he had no other choice. He wouldn't be able to shoot properly from the tree, and there were too many branches in the way anyway. He'd have to jump.

The noises were closer now. Sam closed his eyes, uttered a silent prayer, and then leaped with all his might. He sailed through the air, arms flailing out to catch hold of a branch. He grabbed something firm, and opened his eyes. He'd done it! But then the branch cracked and broke, and it fell, taking Sam with it. Sam felt a jolt of fear, as he fell, and extended his arms. He managed to grab a thicker branch as he fell, almost ripping his arms out of his sockets in the process. He quickly scrambled up it, and then clung to the trunk of the tree, panting. Okay, no broken bones. That's good. Then he looked up and laughed. He'd lost the Mog. Yeah, you won't be getting me today sucker, Sam thought, edging his way around the trunk . . .

And coming face to face with a gun pointed straight at him. He grabbed for his, but only managed to get it halfway up before the Mog said, "Oh no little boy. Put it down, or I'll shoot you."

"You want me alive,"

"Yes, but you do not have to be in perfect condition," said the Mog, fingering the trigger. "You played well, but the game is up. I have won. Now come with me."

Sam thought for a second. "How about . . . not." And before the Mog could react, he pulled the trigger of his gun.

The blast was huge. The gun, still pointed downwards, hit the branch of the tree the two of them were standing on. Sam grabbed for the tree trunk as the Mog shot his gun, but his aim was wild, and he hit the tree farther up. Flaming branches rained down as the alien fell to the ground.

Sam didn't have time to see what happened. He had to get out of this tree _now_. The fire was consuming it fast. He swiftly started his descent, and yelped once as a burning ember landed on his shoulder. But he managed to get down before the whole tree was engulfed in flames. He ran from it, but stopped when he saw what looked like a pile of rags.

It was the Mog, still alive, but with a burning stick embedded in his stomach. The alien was slowly burning to death. Sam grimaced and turned to go.

"There are thousands of us. You and the pathetic Loriens will never win. The Earth will be ours, and you will perish with everyone else."

Sam turned to face it. "I don't think so." He raised his gun.

Six ran to the truck, with John on her heels. She swung open the door, and slid inside, John following her.

"Go, go, go!" John yelled at Sam, who was sitting in the driver's seat. "I think they might have another one of those beast things!"

There was a roar from within the Mogs' hideout. Sam frantically looked around. "I can't find the-" Six held something in front of his face, jangling it.

"Thanks," he said, grabbing the keys. He started the engine, and quickly got the van out of there.

"Well that was," Six began, but was interrupted by a sparrow flying through the open window and straight into their car. Once inside, it took on the familiar dog-like shape of Bernie Kosar.

_I told the animals to leave,_ he said in John's mind.

_Thanks_, John responded. Out loud, he said, "The animals are retreating."

"So where're we heading?" asked Sam, concentrating on getting them out of there.

John started to answer, but Six said, "Back to the cabin." They both looked at her like she was nuts. "I hid my motorcycle so no one could find it. And I'm not leaving it behind."

John sighed, knowing it was pointless to argue with her. "Alright. We'll grab your bike and then we'll go to . . ."

"Hamilton."

"Huh?" John shot a confused glance at Sam. "Hamilton? I'm pretty sure Number 7's in Prince Edward Island."

"I know." Sam's grip on the wheel tightened. "Just, trust me okay? Please?"

John opened his mouth, but once again he was interrupted. "Oh give it a rest John," said Six. "Just do what he says."

John couldn't believe what he just heard. "Excuse me? Who are you and what have you done with Six?"

"Ha ha. Funny. And it's not Six anymore," she said, taking out a road map and analyzing it. "It's Megan."

"Megan? Uh, okay, why?"

"Well, apparently you and Sam think "Six" is a dumb name," she shot a glance at him, "so Sam came up with a new one for me. Might as well keep it."

"Uhuh," he looked over at Sam. "Where'd you get the inspiration for that?"

"He said something about Transformers."

John shook his head, smiling. Sam blushed, looking embarrassed. "You better count yourself lucky she hasn't seen Transformers," he whispered to Sam.

"I heard that," came a voice from behind the road map. "You know, whispering doesn't work to well when I'm _in between the two of you_."

The boys laughed, and together, the three of them drove off down the road.


	6. Epilogue

_**Sorry to everyone who waited forever for me to upload this. I wasn't quite sure how to end this, so I had to watch the movie again for inspiration. Anyway, here it is. The final chapter (dun dun duh)**_

* * *

><p>"Tell the kids I'll be home soon."<p>

Luke Davidson closed his cell phone. It had been a quiet day in the booth today. It wasn't a holiday, or even a weekend, so most people weren't interested in crossing the border. His shift was almost over, and he went to grab his coat, when he saw the truck coming down the road. It slowed as it neared the booth, and the driver rolled down the window.

"Good evening," said Luke to the blonde young man in the driver's seat. "On your way to Canada?"

"Yes. Hamilton, to be exact."

"Ah, Hamilton. Heading up for the festival?"

"Nah. It's our grandmother's 90th birthday. Whole family's getting together."

"Ninety? Well give her my congratulations. So, you're all family?" asked Luke, looking from the boy driving to the one sitting in the passenger's seat holding a dog. Blonde hair and brown hair. Short and skinny, and tall and muscular. They didn't _look _related.

"We're stepsiblings," said the boy with brown hair. "At least I am. They're related," he said, gesturing behind him. Luke looked and saw a girl with blonde hair on the back of a red motorcycle.

"No parents?"

"They've been up for awhile. This was the earliest we could get out of school."

"Still in high school?"

"Well, we're officially done now."

"Oh, congratulations again. You don't mind if I take a look at some of your stuff?"

The brown haired boy had been answering the questions, but now the blonde spoke up again. "Of course not."

Luke went around and started rummaging around. Everything looked fine, but there were two oddly designed suitcases that he couldn't open. He grabbed one and brought it to the front.

"What's this?"

"Our grandmother collects suitcases," said the blonde, shrugging as though embarrassed. "We found these on EBay. Apparently they're antiques from an old movie she used to watch."

"Which movie?"

The blonde looked at the other boy, who shrugged. "World something? I can't remember, I could never sit through 5 minutes of that thing."

"Can you open it for me please?"

"They don't open. Trust me, we've tried."

"Well, it feels like there's something inside. Either it opens, or I'll have to confiscate it-"

"Listen," said the blonde man, catching hold of the Luke's wrist. "We're just heading to a family reunion. We don't have anything illegal, so just let us go. It's late; you probably want to just go home."

Come to think of it, he did want to get home. And they sounded so sure that they didn't have anything illegal. "Alright," said Luke vaguely. "You can pass. Have fun at your reunion."

And he picked up his coat, went outside, locked the booth, and headed out to his car. He really did want to get home. Home was warm. Home was _great_. He didn't even look back to see if the cars had driven away. Of course they would have. They didn't have anything illegal. They just were going to a family reunion. Going home. Like him. Home.

The two vehicles, however, had not driven away. The three passengers were staring as they watched the headlights from Luke's car grow dimmer and dimmer as he drove off.

"Okay, what was that?" asked the girl, getting off her motorcycle and walking up to the two off them.

"What did you do?" asked the brown haired boy. The blonde one was staring at his hands.

"I-I don't know. Maybe it's . . . he looked at the other boy. "Get out of the car."

The other boy narrowed his eyes. "Why?"

The blonde grabbed his wrist. "Get out of the car."

And without hesitation, the brown haired boy proceeded to do so.

"It's a new Legacy, John," breathed the girl.

The boy, John, stared at his hands again. "I don't believe it. I can, I can influence people." He grinned, "That'll come in handy. Sam!" he called out to the boy outside. "It's a new Legacy."

The car door opened, and Sam got back in. "Cool. And mildly creepy. But cool."

"Well, if we're all done there, let's get this show back on the road," said the girl, and she left, presumably to get back on her motorcycle. John started the car and they were off once more.

"You know what this makes you, right?" asked Sam. "A Jedi. These are not the droids you're looking for," he said, waving his fingers in front of John's face.

John laughed. "Shut up, Sam." He shook his head, and focused on the road that would take them to Hamilton.

* * *

><p>"So we obviously can't do this randomly." It was the next day, and the three of them were hunched over the table in a motel in Hamilton, after they'd figured that it searching for Sam's dad at night would probably be pointless. They were looking at a map that showed all of the different camping areas in and around the area, and there were quite a few.<p>

"Sam, any of these stick out to you?" asked John. Sam did a onceover of the map again.

"I don't- wait. Big Valley Campground."

"Sound familiar?"

"Yeah, yeah it does. We went there when I was really young. My mom had something for work, and I really wanted to camp, so my dad took me here." He looked up. "Should we try it out?"

John sighed. "Look, I hate to say this, but that could be irrelevant. I mean, if the Mogs were talking about it, it probably has something to do with when your dad was with them. They probably didn't know a lot about your family trips."

Sam sighed. "I know. But it's all we've got. Right S-. Um, Me-. Uh, right?" He looked at Six.

"Right. Now how come the two of you haven't been calling me by my name?"

Sam and John looked at each other. "Um, what do you mean?" asked John.

"You know what I mean."

"Well," John started, "we weren't sure, since you were Six, and then you were Megan, and then we saw the-"

"Blockbuster poster," Sam muttered. He remembered how he and John had gone in to a grocery store to stock up on supplies, and had come out to find Six across the street, staring at the window of the Blockbuster. They'd gone over and found that she was actually looking at an old, faded poster of Transformers in the window, advertising the two main actors in the movie. Sam rubbed his shoulder, remembering how Six had punched him.

"You're such a tool," she'd said. But Sam had seen a glimmer of amusement in her eyes. At least he'd thought so.

"Oh yes, how could I forget _that_," she said, throwing a withering glance and Sam.

"So, what should we call you?" asked Sam.

"How about Your Highness?" muttered John, and the two of them burst into laughter.

"You two are impossible!" said Six, throwing up her hands in frustration. "Shut up now, or I will shoot you both."

Slowly the boys calmed down, with only the odd snicker escaping. "So, Big Valley Campground it is?" asked Sam.

"Sure. It's all we got."

* * *

><p>The three of them stood on a hill, overlooking the campsite. They'd searched it for two hours, and hadn't found anyone remotely like Sam's dad. John felt terrible. Sam had been trying to hide it, but John knew that he had been so excited to finally find his dad here. And now . . . nothing. He and Six stood a couple feet back from Sam, to let him have a moment. John wanted to say something reassuring, but he wasn't terribly good at motivational speeches.<p>

There was a flash of movement in the corner of his eye, and he turned to see Six gesturing at him, as if to say _Say something!_

He gestured back. _You say something!_

_I'm not good with mushy things! You do it!_

_You're a girl aren't you? You're better than I am!_

Six glared at him, and if looks could kill, well, John was glad they couldn't. She stepped forwards, and John was worried she was going to hit him, but then Bernie Kosar walked over to Sam._ You're hopeless_, the dog spoke in John's mind. Bernie Kosar sat down right at Sam's feet and curled up around him. Sam smiled, and knelt to pet him.

"Outdone by a dog," John whispered to Six, who grinned.

Sam stood up and turned to the two of them. "Guess we should get a move on."

"He's probably just at another site," said John quickly.

"Or maybe he got plastic surgery," put in Six. "In which case-"

"He could be anywhere," Sam swallowed. "Let's just leave. We need to look for Number 7."

They turned to go, and then out of nowhere something ran straight into John and bowled him over. Before he could react, the figure dug the point of a gun into his chest and shouted "Nobody move!"

Sam, Six and Bernie Kosar froze. John's earlier fear of Mogs disappeared as he looked at the person kneeling on top of him. It was a boy, around his age, with black hair and a dark tan. So unless the Mogs were employing humans to work for them, which they'd done before. But John didn't think so. The boy's tone sounded almost desperate, not attempting as though he wanted to kill them, but rather as though he was protecting himself.

"Did they send you?" he asked.

"Look, this is all just-" Six began.

"I asked you a question!" the boy roared. "Did they send you?"

"You mean the Mogs?" John asked, staring up at the boy. "The Mogadorians?"

The boy dug the gun harder. "I knew it," he snarled. "You're with them."

"No we're not," said Six. "We're . . . oh for God's sake, Sam explain."

"Me? Why?"

"Because Sam, I'm too intimidating to be nice, now do it!"

But something they had said had caused the boy threatening them to pause. "Wait. Who are you?" he asked, gesturing to Sam with a free hand.

"Sam . . ." Sam broke off suddenly as he stared at the base of the hill. The bushes lining the sides rustled, and a man stepped through them, a man who looked very familiar.

"Jonah! Where-" he broke off as he stared up the hill.

"Dad," Sam whispered. And he tore off down the hill towards the man.

"Wait, I said don't-"

"Oh shut up, we're obviously not hostile," said Six, walking over to John. The boy half-raised his gun, then sighed, and got off John's chest. Six helped him to his feet.

"So who are you?" Six asked.

"You first," answered the boy.

Six paused, as though contemplating how to take him down, so John intervened.

"I'm Number Four," he said, as Six looked at him sharply.

"We don't-" she began, but the boy cut her off. "That's bad luck for you isn't it?" He held out his hand. "Number Eight".

John and Six looked at each other, confused. "No you're not," began Six. "We'd know if you were a number. We used a crystal . . ."

"Dr. Goode's crystal? He told me about it. He said it was likely that the Mogs would find it, so he injected me with a chemical to make me untraceable."

"So that really is Sam's dad," he said to himself. To Number Eight he said, "so how long have you been travelling with him?"

"Two and a half years. My Cepan died defending me in Jamaica, and I was on my own for a bit. Then I found the location of a Mog base and had plans to blow it up, but I met Dr Goode escaping from them. We fought together, and I've been travelling with him since. We're trying to unite the numbers to fight the Mogs and drive them out of Earth for good."

"So he's been free for two and a half years, and he never once went to see his family?" John said.

"He cared about too much to do that. He was worried that the Mogs would do anything to get him back, including blackmailing him with whatever they thought he loved. But he managed to get his wife a promotion in her job, bringing her to Paradise, Ohio, and making it harder for the Mogs to find them." The boy paused, then said, "He's amazing. He's only human, but he's helping us as much as we can. He's my Cepan now, I guess."

"My Cepan's dead too, and so is John's. I guess we're all in the same boat there," said Six.

"John?" asked Eight.

"That's me," said John, raising his hand. "I like having an actual name, instead of just a number."

Eight thought for a second, then nodded. "So do I. It's Jonah." He looked at Six. "I didn't catch your name."

"I'm Number Six," she said. Jonah waited. "But my name's Megan," she said, with a sly look at John, who suppressed a snort.

"We have so much to plan," said Jonah. "Three numbers! All united! And you two said you used the crystals, which means you can find the other 3 easily! We should start making fight plans, practicing, locating Mog bases-"

"Slow down kid," said Six. "Let's just . . .enjoy the moment for a bit."

John followed her line of vision to see what was happening at the base of the hill. He nudged her in the side. "I thought you weren't into 'mushy' stuff like this," he joked.

She slapped him on the shoulder. "Don't be getting any ideas," she said menacingly. "This is a onetime thing. It's just . . . nice."

All three of them watched as Sam and his dad laughed and hugged and cried at the bottom of the hill. It was nice, thought John. Actually, it was better than nice. It was probably one of the happiest things he had ever seen in all his time on earth. Watching father and son be reunited like this, it made John feel an even greater need to save Earth. It was too late for him to reunite with his father, but it wasn't too late for the millions of children on this planet. He would help them all; make sure no one else lost a brother, a sister, a mother, a father to the Mogs. Things hadn't been going so well for their cause just yet, but things were looking up. They'd destroyed a Mog base, they were united with another number and best of all, Sam had found his dad. He turned to Six, who was smiling a genuine smile, and he smiled back. The moment was more than nice. It was inspiring. It was wonderful. It . . .

It gave him hope.


End file.
